Timeline: Evolution in the U.S. Public Education System [Updated Slide Show]

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Editor's Note: This slide show has been updated to include recent efforts to maintain and strengthen evolution education in science classrooms in U.S. public schools.

Creationists continue to agitate against the teaching of evolution in public schools, adapting their tactics to match the roadblocks they encounter. Past strategies have included portraying creationism as a credible alternative to evolution and disguising it under the name "intelligent design." Other tactics misrepresent evolution as scientifically controversial and pretend that advocates for teaching creationism are defending academic freedom.

This timeline notes some key events in the seesawing history of the battle between creationists and evolutionists. It highlights the way creationist tactics have shifted in response to evolution’s advances in classrooms and to court rulings that have banned religious proselytizing in public schools.